I've had most but not all of the bottles on that excellent list. I just prefer the residual sweetness in Maker's. Time to try some of the others.

Ken, I finally had some of the Black Maple Creek. It was excellent. LOTS of different things going on, but I'm not sure I want quite that much maple and vanilla.

Yeah, I know, I'm a fussy drunk.

We have very high liquor taxes in WA, so while Costco is still a good value, I'll bet that Kirkland Signature 1L will be closer to $55 here. I used to pay about $30 for 750ml of Maker's, but the Costco-funded initiative to privatize liquor sales has raised prices by about 15%.

Bourbon is not something I reach for when I'm in the mood to drink something neat, or with a cube of ice. It just doesn't do it for me... I did however try that Maple Creek a couple months ago and liked it. Still not enough to sip it straight though.

Whisky / Whiskey is mostly water, but it just pisses me off that Maker's has arbitrarily decided to change their blend to increase product distribution by adding more water. That just reeks of immoral practices to me. If you look to any winery that sells out, they don't change their wine making philosophy to meet demand, they tell folks to act quicker. It's just part of the game.